4 Tattoo's Jim Kirk Had Removed and 1 He Didn't
by Loversinadistantland
Summary: Four tattoo's Jim Kirk had removed and one he didn't. Jim/Bones


4 Tattoo's Jim Kirk Had Removed and 1 He Didn't.

Author: Loversinadistantland

Beta: The wonderful jademac2442 at livejournal.

Rating: T

Warnings: Disturbing imagery, not recommended for those with a fear of needles.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, worlds, and etc. are the property of Gene Roddenberry. I'm making no profit. No harm is intended. Etc, etc.

Authors Notes: I do not follow TOS, so please excuse any liberties taken with Klingon culture; also Sam's birthday was never given so I just made him three years older than Jim. The method of tattooing described in #4 is based off of the ancient Polynesian method of tattooing; if you haven't heard of it, look it up, it's pretty interesting. Also for anyone interested in further research into tattoo's, or just tat junkies like myself, I highly recommend The History Channel's documentary "Ancient Ink"; it's pretty fascinating.

1. Tarsus IV, 10 years old, Back of neck, Barcode.

The first tattoo Jim ever had was not something he got willingly. Kodos wanted to keep track of his prisoners, should any of them mysteriously escape. A tracking tattoo was the easiest way to do this; coincidentally it was also the most painful. Jim remembers standing in line, listening to the tortured cries of his friends, as the needle cruelly tore into their skin; leaving scars that reached far deeper than the needle ever could. He remembers trying to be brave, guards holding him face down against a cold table, trying not to scream as the needle dug into the sensitive skin of his neck; he remembers unending agony and the feeling of claws ripping into him.

After the rescue, his mother gave Starfleet's medical staff permission to remove it. Mercifully, they put him to sleep before the removal, sparing him another round of earth-shattering pain. Not that it would have mattered; it couldn't have hurt worse than getting the tattoo did. Jim will always remember the feeling of his first tattoo; and if he occasionally shy's away from needles, or rubs the scarred skin on the back of his neck when pushed to his breaking point, well no one really notices anyway.

2. Iowa, 14 years old, Left bicep, "_Brothers 2230.37 2233.04_"

Sam took Jim to get his second tattoo. One hot day in July while Mom was off exploring the vast reaches of space, and Frank had gotten tired of beating on them and has passed out in the living room, a bottle of gin in his hand; the brother's Kirk snuck out of the house, quietly borrowed their dad's old car, and drove over to Sam's friend's place. Jim was as nervous as hell about getting another tattoo, but he loved Sam and this was just another way to cement their bond as brothers; to show that nothing could break them apart, that neither of them would ever leave, like mom had. Sam's friend had an old tattoo machine in his garage and had agreed to tattoo them each for free; they'd decided on a simple design, the word "Brothers" and their respective birthdays printed below it.

When Jim saw the machine, he nearly backed out; his memories of Tarsus, rearing their ugly heads with a vengeance. But when Sam sat down next to the machine and gave him a reassuring smile and a brotherly "don't be a wuss", he'd steeled his resolve to go through with it. Sam's friend, a big biker, wiped Sam's right arm with a wet washcloth and went to work. It didn't look as painful as Jim had remembered; Sam didn't show any signs of discomfort. When the guy was finally finished with Sam's tattoo, Jim was more than ready to go. This was no big deal, if he could survive Frank, he could do this. Jim remembers the feeling of the wet washcloth against his skin, and then the first prick of the needle; it hurt, more than he was expecting it to, but not more than he could handle. Jim breathed through the stabbing pain, the feeling of sharp talons tearing at the skin of his arm; Jim silently begged for relief, regretting his decision to go through with getting the tattoo, but was careful to keep his face blank. Once it was done, though, he was glad that he'd gone through with it; now he and his brother would have a part of each other forever.

Sam left six months later. Jim's world shattered out from under him; the one person who was never supposed to leave him did. They'd made a promise, tattooed it on their bodies, and Sam had still cut and run. Jim had the tattoo removed at a shady clinic in the city; it hurt worse than he could've imagined, but not worse than keeping it would've.

3. Unknown, 17 years old, Left butt cheek, "_Jimmy_".

Jim didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he looked in the mirror. Apparently, at some point, during his three day bender he'd gotten a tattoo. He wasn't sure where he got it or who gave it to him. He'd just woken up with his ass hurting, which in and of itself was not an uncommon occurrence, but location of the pain made him more than a little curious as to what had happened. Looking in the mirror, Jim had to wonder what had led to him getting his own name tattooed on his ass; if it even was _his_ name, he knew a few other "Jimmy's" in town. Jim just sighed and shook his head, getting dressed, and heading to the hospital to have it taken off.

4. Kronos, 25 years old, Right arm from shoulder to elbow, Klingon warrior design.

After the Narada incident the Romulan's had become increasingly hostile towards the federation, refusing to even discuss the idea of peace. Starfleet had then decided to try and negotiate the Klingon's into "taking their side" should a conflict arise; the Klingon's were, after all, great warriors and their alliance with the Federation might deter the Romulan's from attacking. The Enterprise was sent to Kronos to head negotiations with the Klingon government.

During the negotiations the Klingon's agreed to side with the Federation if one of the men of the Enterprise could defeat a Klingon in gladiatorial combat; Jim immediately volunteered, refusing to put the lives of any of his crew at risk. Through equal parts strategy, skill, and pure dumb luck, Jim managed to win. Jim showed mercy, refusing to kill his Klingon opponent, and in return was then "adopted" into said Klingon's family. The Klingon's insisted on Jim being tattooed with the family warrior's crest; Jim agreed as not to jeopardize the agreement that the Federation had reached with the Klingon's.

This was like no tattoo that Jim had ever gotten before. It was administered by the family's oldest female using two sticks, one which looked like a comb with a row of needles dipped in ink on it, and the other which was used to "tap" the ink of the design into place. This tattoo was by far the most painful he'd ever received. The ink was a special family recipe, and burned like liquid fire under his sensitive skin. Jim sat through three hours of torture, as his right arm, from shoulder blade to elbow, burned like hellfire; at some point he'd bit down on his lip, hard enough to draw blood, just to keep from screaming.

Despite all of this, the alliance stood, and at the end of the day that was all that mattered. Jim bid the Klingon government officials farewell, as well as his "family", before beaming back on board the ship; his arm burning worse now than it had earlier, and the feeling was beginning to spread. Once safely back on the Enterprise, Jim took one step off the transporter pad, and promptly passed out from the excruciating pain in his arm. He awoke in sickbay some time later. His right arm, from shoulder to elbow, was swathed in bandages; looking over he noticed Bones asleep in a chair, beside the bed. Jim used his left hand to carefully look under the bandages, but instead of black ink, he saw nothing but slightly tanned skin.

"Didn't figure you'd want it." Bones spoke, his voice still heavy with sleep. "'Sides you were havin' an allergic reaction to whatever the hell that ink was made out of; didn't figure you'd wanna lose the arm, just to keep your Klingon pride."

Jim smiled sleepily at Bones, before once more drifting off.

And one he didn't…

1. Risa, 27 years old, Left pectoral, Caduceus and Crossbones.

As soon as it was time for Jim's rotation to take their shore leave, he bolted off the Enterprise, with only one place in mind; in the city he found the Terran tattoo shop, he'd researched while still on the ship. He'd called ahead and made an appointment with a guy named Jay; just to make sure that he got in, and got his tattoo today. This would be his only chance to do this for the next six months, and he didn't want to wait.

Jim walked into the shop to find that it was clean and comfortable, with ancient Terran heavy metal blaring from the back room. The girl at the counter introduced him to Jay, and he explained to him what he wanted. The artist looked at him a little strangely when he described the design he wanted, but nodded none the less, and agreed to draw something up. After Jim approved of the design and the placement, Jay went to work. He put on a pair of gloves, shaved the area where the tattoo would be, and transferred the design from the paper he had used to Jim's skin; the tattoo coming to rest right over Jim's heart. He asked Jim to check the placement one more time, and then picked up the gun and went to work. It didn't hurt nearly as much as Jim remembered; it was certainly nowhere near as painful as his Klingon tattoo had been. Two hours later, Jim walked out of the shop with a bandage snugly over the tattoo and a data solid of proper care instructions. He immediately made his way back to the ship and from there to his cabin; lying down on the bed he took off his shirt, and awaited the arrival of his lover.

Jim was anxious to reveal his new artwork to his lover, after all he was the reason he'd gotten it in the first place. He and Bones had been together for two years now, and while Jim often told Bones that he loved him, he wanted to find someway to show him; to show him that their relationship wasn't just some passing fancy, but was permanent. Bones was it for Jim, and he wanted someway to share this sentiment with his lover. That was where the idea of a tattoo had come in; what better way to show permanence, than with something permanent? Later Jim had worked out the symbolism and the placement that he wanted for the tattoo; at the time he'd thought it was the perfect way to show Bones how much he loved him. But now Jim was getting nervous; what if Bones didn't like the tattoo? What if he thought that it was stupid, and immature? What if he hated the fact that Jim had permanently marked his skin? Jim toyed with the shirt he had just removed, before deciding to slip it on once more; afraid of his lover's reaction to his rash show of commitment.

Jim had barely gotten back into his shirt before Bones walked into their shared quarters. Bones looked over at Jim before, coming to sit beside his lover on their bed.

"How was shore leave?" He asked, leaning over to kiss Jim.

Jim returned the kiss, smiling at his lover as they pulled back. "Fine. How were things here on the ship?" He nervously toyed with the hem of his shirt, once again worried about his lover's reaction; Bones would find out sooner or later, but with any luck it would be later, perhaps after Jim had a chance to have it removed.

Bones gave a long suffering sigh, "Anytime we have shore leave on Risa, at least six crew members a rotation come back with some kind of STD; ain't that a blast to deal with. I swear, I see one more green and purple cock, and I'm putting chastity belts on the lot of them."

Jim snickered at the imagery that Bones was so vividly putting forward; well that and the thought of Bones trying to outfit the whole ship with chastity belts. "Sorry you had a rough day Bones. Anything I can do to make it better?" Jim asked in low, sexy voice.

Bones' eyes darkened, and he smirked. "I do believe there is, darlin'."

Jim chuckled as Bones leaned in and kissed him deeply, pulling Jim closer to him. Bones' tongue darted out to wet his lips, and Jim opened his mouth, granting it access; the kiss going from smoldering to white-hot in zero point five seconds. Bones pulled Jim closer into his embrace, slowly lowering him back against the bed. Bones leaned down over Jim, pressing their chests tight together, and inadvertently putting pressure on the tattoo; Jim hissed as pain shot up the left side of his chest. Upon hearing the hiss and seeing his lover's face contort in pain, Bones immediately became alert, quickly pulling himself back up into a sitting position.

"Jim, darlin', what's wrong?" He asked his voice rough with concern and fading arousal.

"Nothing, it's nothing Bones." Jim replied after he got the pain under control, hoping to sweep the incident under the rug.

"Doesn't sound like "nothing"." Bones answered gruffly. "There somethin' you forget to tell me about this shore leave of yours, darlin'?" He fixed Jim with a pointed stare, demanding the truth of his lover.

"Nope don't think so." Jim replied quickly, not looking Bones in the eye; Jim could never lie to Bones.

"Uh-huh." Bones said sounding unconvinced. He ran his hands over his lover's clothed chest gently applying pressure, until he hit the spot where the tattoo lay; Jim hissed in pain once more, and recoiled from Bones searching fingers. "That's what I thought. We can either do this here or I can take you down to sickbay, your choice."

Jim sighed, there was no escaping it now; he had to show Bones the tattoo, for better or worse. "Fine. Just promise me you won't freak out, ok?"

Bones eyes widened in concern, but he nodded his agreement. Jim slowly, unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled it off; careful not to jostle the tattoo anymore than needs be. Upon seeing the bandage over his heart, Bones eyes widened to epic proportions, fear and worry shining through them like beacons.

"Jim what happened? Were you in a fight? Why didn't you call me if you were hurt?" Bones asked frantically, while he carefully worked to take off the bandage.

Jim remained silent as Bones pulled back the bandage and peered at what lay underneath. Bones sat staring at the newly revealed skin, while Jim nervously toyed with the sheets on the bed, waiting for his lover to say something.

"Jim," Bones' voice was rough with emotion, but with what emotion Jim couldn't tell, "What is this?"

Well, there was no point in lying now; in for a penny in for a pound. "It's…um…it's a tattoo. It's your tattoo actually. It's, uh, it's you, Bones. You know the Caduceus is an old symbol for medicine and the crossbones are, well, your name Bones. I put it over my heart, so that I would always have you there; in my heart and on it. Kinda symbolic you know? Anyways, I understand if you don't like it, I can have it removed; it was a stupid idea anyway." Jim ranted, before Bones silenced him with a hard kiss.

"I love it." Bones assured him, his voice thick with emotion still.

"You-you do?" Jim asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely, but I have to ask why darlin'. Why'd you get this for me?"

Jim blushed, "Well, um, I wanted you to know that our relationship is permanent; that I'm not going anywhere. I wanted to show you that, um, that I love you, and can't imagine my life without you. You know, stuff like that."

Bones smiled down at him, love shining bright in his eyes. "I know that darlin'. You didn't need to prove it to me."

"I know, but I wanted to." Jim insisted, smiling back up at his lover, relieved at his reaction. He was so glad Bones didn't want him to get rid of the tattoo; he didn't think he'd have been able to. "I just love you, you know. And I wanted to be able to show you that."

"I love you, too, darlin', more than you'll ever know." Bones replied, before pulling him into a fierce, deep kiss.


End file.
